Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The ongoing
media discussion of the “poor door” development in
New York City misses the forest for the trees by focusing on segregation within
an individual building, rather than the more pernicious segregation of our
nation’s neighborhoods and schools.

At the center of the media controversy
is the city’s
inclusionary housing policy and the developer of
a luxury housing property on New York’s Upper West Side. Under the terms of the
voluntary policy, the developer priced 20 percent of the homes at below-market rate
rents, in perpetuity, in exchange for a zoning bonus. The developer also gained
access to public subsidies, including a lucrative property tax exemption, by
building the affordable units “on-site.” But the developer clustered the affordable
units within a low-rise building while placing the luxury units in an adjoining
tower, and made key amenities available exclusively to luxury tenants. Furthermore,
the property is designed so as to appear to be a single building, but has separate
entrances for the affordable- and market-rate-units.

Clearly there’s room for
improvement here: if you’re going to offer extra financial incentives to
developers for complying with the “on-site” option in inclusionary housing (as
NYC does), these mixed-income properties should meet higher standards of
integration and communicate that all residents are welcome and afforded equal
rights as tenants. If anything, the poor-door controversy clarifies why most of
the nation’s 500+ inclusionary housing policies include basic guidelines to
ensure the residents of the affordable apartments or condos aren’t stigmatized
or treated unequally.

But we mustn’t lose
sight of the ultimate goal of inclusionary housing: improving location choices for
lower-income families, and increasing the availability of decent, affordable homes
in neighborhoods with good schools, quality job access, and healthy living
environments. The Extell development on the Upper West Side needlessly
offends with its design, but it’s also creating 55 affordable, quality homes in
an amenity- and opportunity-rich community that is increasingly off-limits to
poorer residents. Developments such as these may be better termed “off-site” or
“adjacent.” But with small design improvements (like just making the buildings
separate!) they are a significant
improvement to the status quo of exclusionary, segregated neighborhoods.

New York City and jurisdictions throughout the country continue
to have many highly segregated communities – a legacy of decades of exclusionary zoning, redlining, and the market’s
inabilities to create balanced neighborhoods. This leads to separate and
unequal schools, and restricts too many opportunities to those with means. Inclusionary
housing policies help restore the promise of equal opportunity by linking
market-rate development to affordability, fostering mixed-income neighborhoods,
and helping
lower-income households access better schools and healthier living environments
where they can thrive.

But for inclusionary housing to
work, we need developers to build new housing. To avoid stifling the market,
inclusionary housing policies need some degree of flexibility. The economics of creating mixed-income
housing is tricky on certain properties and in many high-cost areas. For this
reason, many jurisdictions structure their policies with a menu of options,
including the option to develop the affordable homes
“nearby but off-site.” These homes still
have access to the same neighborhood schools and amenities; they’re simply
distinct properties. And in many cases this arrangement makes it easier to deepen
the affordability of the below-market-rate homes.

As inclusionary housing policies
become more common and sought-after in cities and town centers, it’s important
to keep the big picture in mind, and keep our inclusionary housing policies
flexible. Mixed-income buildings are ideal.
But we need to be creating multiple pathways to more inclusive
neighborhoods.

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Formed in 1931, the nonprofit National Housing Conference is dedicated to helping ensure safe, decent and affordable housing for all in America. Through nonpartisan advocacy, research and communications for the continuum of housing, NHC develops ideas, resources and policy solutions to move housing forward.